Odysseus Contest “Engage and Inspire the European Youth in the Space Exploration through a Scientific Contest” Career Path in Space Career Path in Space Contents Scope of the document 5 Introduction 5 What kind of jobs are available? 6 What do scientists say about their work? 16 Interview with a NASA Astronaut 2 2 Editors Space summer Schools and Space Camps 2 3 References 2 5 ELLINOGERMANIKI AGOGI Tsourlidaki Eleftheria Dr. Sofoklis Sotiriou SPACE EXPO Marieke Hohnen Leo Van den Bogaert Design ELLINOGERMANIKI AGOGI Sylvia Pentheroudaki The Odysseus project is supported financially by the European Commission within the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013). This document reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 2 3 Career Path in Space Career Path in Space Scope of the document What kind of jobs are available? The purpose of this document is to describe career opportunities in space for students. The handbook includes brief descrip- Astronauts are probably the first people you tions of occupations that are directly connected with space exploration so a reader may get an overall idea of what kind of think of when you think of a career in space. occupations are involved in space exploration. Moreover, the handbook also includes interviews from leading professionals But in reality, they are only one of the many, in space as well as brief descriptions of space summer camps and summer schools that students may be interested in many people working in the space industry. learning about. There are people who design the spacecraft, people who build the spacecraft, people re- We would like to thank Nicolas Altobelli, Christopher S Arridge, Inge Loes ten Kate and Martha Kusterer, for giving us the searching the best fuel, people making sure interviews included in this document. the life support system works, and people developing the food that astronauts will eat in space, to name but a few. In order to give you Introduction an idea of the career opportunities in the field of space, we have gathered information about It is not by accident that when people ask little children what they would like to be when they grow up one of the most com- the most common jobs in space exploration mon answers they get is “Astronaut”. However there are many occupations involved in space exploration besides astro- and what they involve. Credit: ESA nauts. So what kind of jobs are out there and what does it take to work in space exploration? Figure 2. The Herschel telescope People that work in space exploration are basically scientists and engineers. They share some common characteristics but their Engineers and Technicians background studies vary significantly. Besides their love in matters Engineers and Technicians are responsible for designing, developing, and testing the building of space crafts and their dif- that have to do with space and the universe in general, some of the ferent components (e.g. craft guidance systems, control and navigations systems or tools for communication) that are es- common characteristics they share are that they enjoyed math and sential for the functioning of the aircraft or spacecraft. When there is a need for a new product, the engineers are the ones science since they were in school and they usually are very curious to do it. They design and test the parts; they put them all together and test to see how successful their final product is. Part about how the world around them works. Enjoying using comput- of their work includes writing reports about the components they make.1 ers and doing experiments are also characteristics that we may find across most people working in space exploration. The aerospace industry has, over the years, gained major importance. Aerospace engineering is not a distinct branch of science. All its important basic concepts are imported from other branches of engineering. Besides space exploration, aero- Since there are many kinds of jobs involved in space exploration, when space engineers also develop technologies that are used in civilian transportation and defence systems.2 it comes to education and background studies there are many different paths that one can follow, depending on one’s character and interests. Different parts of aircrafts and space crafts are built by different aerospace engineering areas and the engineers and techni- What is certain is that the minimum education that such a career re- cians that make them require different practical training and knowledge. All these areas and specialties are equally impor- quires is a bachelor’s degree in a related subject. In order to get an idea Credit: ESA tant constructing a fully functioning aircraft or spacecraft. 2 of the different jobs and their requirements we have put together some Figure 1. The “Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circu- descriptions of the most common jobs involved in space exploration. lation Explorer” (GOCE) being moved for final testing. 4 5 Career Path in Space Career Path in Space Some different kinds of engineers and technicians in the field of aeronautics are: Besides the examples listed above, there are many other kinds of engineers (such as petroleum engineers, chemical en- gineers and robotic engineers) involved in the space industry. There are also many different kinds of technicians involved, Software engineers write the software that is used in automated systems and contain the necessary instructions for assisting the engineers and maintaining all the equipment. space crafts and satellites to follow and to perform the correct manoeuvres. Software Engineers identify the tasks that need to be automated and create the programmes that perform the functions desired by the users of the system. The Software What training is necessary? Engineer will test the system to make sure it works the way it is supposed to work.3 - Take as many math, science and computer programming classes as possible in high school. Engineering courses are Mechanical engineers generally plan and design engines, machines and other equipment. They construct and test the also very useful. parts of machines and make sure that the final product works properly. Among other things, they are also responsible for 4 the scientific equipment and the wiring in aircraft and robots. - To beco me an engineer, you need a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from a college or university. To do research, a Ph.D. is highly desired for such a position. Electronics Engineers are responsible for the design and production of electrical and electronic. Some of the parts that Electronics Engineers are responsible for are scientific instruments, motors, wiring in buildings, aircraft, radar, computers, - To become a technician, you can take a course in engineering or aerospace technology from a college or technical 5 robots and video equipment. school. Some companies in the aerospace industry also offer on-the-job training programs. Aerospace engineers design, develop, test and oversee the building of aircrafts, spacecraft and propulsion systems and space flight mission paths.6 Materials engineers develop and test new types of materials (metallic and non-metallic) for use in aerospace systems and vehicles. They make sure the materials have the right properties (such as strength and heat resistance).7 Nuclear engineers use their knowl- edge about nuclear energy to solve en- gineering problems and develop equip- ment used to process nuclear fuels and the nuclear propulsion systems used in some spacecrafts.8 Engineering Technician facilitate engineers and scientists by setting up or installing equipment, testing, maintain- ing and repairing equipment, conducting experiments, recording results, writing design plans and running tests. They Credit: ESA - S. Corvaja, 2011 also gather data from various sources Figure 4. In-Orbit Validation (IOV) satellite assembled and tested by Thales Alenia like field notes, design books and lab re- Credit: Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. Space. ports. They are also responsible for look- Figure 3. A view inside the flyby spacecraft showing electronics panels and the tele- ing at the data and report any errors or communications deck (top) all of which will control and operate the spacecraft. The inconsistent data.9 engineer’s head will be replaced by the fuel tank. 6 7 Career Path in Space Career Path in Space Scientists Medical doctors screen astronauts to make sure they are in optimal health before their departure. They also monitor astronaut’s health during the flight. Many scientists choose to pursue research and development careers in space science. For example, pharmacology re- Meteorologists study the weather and climate. They assist air traffic control by making predictions about the weather. searchers are investigating ways to develop new medications This is very important for launches of spacecraft. from substances discovered during space exploration trips. Sci- Nutritionists make sure the menu of the astronauts during their trip is healthy and nutritious. 21 entists working for space agencies may have different expertise and work on different fields; mission operation, project support, Mathematicians and statisticians use math to help solve scientific and engineering problems. Applied Mathemati- scientific coordinators or research and development. There are cians for example help to create new models of aerodynamic behaviour of a spacecraft. They use math rules and processes opportunities in space